London - Amaya

There is a passing resemblance to Zuma, the Asian restaurant in Knightsbridge, and the set of an Indiana Jones movie.

Beautiful oak floors, suspended slatted ceiling, flowers floating in troughs, glass fronted fridges displaying fruit and vegetables, and lots of windows. It is a very airy and spacious restaurant, and the kitchen is open, so you can watch each dish being prepared. It’s just a pity the kitchen staff looked so miserable.

Our Eastern European waitress explained, in her best English, the Indian ethos behind the restaurant. How cosmopolitan London has become these days!

“All the food is for sharing. There are no starters and no main courses, just order 6 – 9 dishes for the two of you, large or small plates, and they will come out in no particular order”.

We decided to order Chef Karunesh Khanna’s Gourmand Menu, which has to be ordered by the whole table.  The Clementine and goats cheese salad which started the meal was delicious.  We then had flash grilled rock oysters, scallops with herbs, monkfish tikka, chicken tikka, a very odd tandoori broccoli, masala lobster, lamb chop, delicious naan bread, chicken biryani, a boondi and pomegranate raita, and a choice of all the restaurant’s desserts followed by tea or coffee.  All for £57 a head.  The little pots of chutneys (including a delicious gooseberry one) were a wonderful accompaniment.

The only fault was the broccoli which was raw and burnt.

If you buy from the menu the prices for meat and fish dishes are around £20 for a regular portion, £10 for a smaller portion, with poultry and vegetable dishes at around £10 for large and £5 for smaller dishes. The Gourmand menu is the best option.

A good touch was the constant monitoring of guests by the manager who spent the evening wandering round the tables, chatting to guests, and occasionally serving dishes himself. Indeed all the staff were friendly and attentive.

Amaya
Halkin Arcade
Motcomb Street
London
SW1

+44 207 823 1166

http://www.amaya.biz